Navigare 2- 2017

NEWS
ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM PAGE 40
Fisheries sector:
Legislation for working conditions enters
into force this autumn
The Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188) was adopted at the ILO International Labour Conference.
Norway ratified the Convention in January 2016, but the new legislation will not enter into force until
16 November 2017, one year after Lithuania as the tenth nation, ratified the Convention.
GEIRMUND EIKJE, NMA
The objective of this Convention is to
ensure that fishers have decent conditions
of work on board fishing vessels
with regard to minimum requirements for
work on board, conditions of service,
accommodation and food, occupational
safety and health protection, medical care
and social security.
Most of the provisions of ILO 188 are
already articulated in Norwegian legislation,
so the Convention does not introduce many
changes for Norwegian fishers.
Minimum age requirement
The new legislation will nevertheless have
consequences on some levels. The Convention
sets the minimum age for work on board
a fishing vessel at 16 years. The minimum
age is set at 15 for persons who are no longer
subject to compulsory schooling and who are
engaged in vocational training in fishing. The
current Regulations on work and placement
of young people on Norwegian ships have
not set a minimum age limit and will be
considered amended as a result of the new
age requirements of ILO 188.
Medical certificate
According to the new Convention, all fishers
are required to have a valid medical certificate
demonstrating that they are medically fit to
perform their duties. However, fishers working
on a fishing vessel of 24 metres in length and
over or who normally remain at sea for more
than three days may be exempt from this
requirement. Current Norwegian legislation
(Regulations of 5 June 2014 No. 805 on the
medical examination of employees on Norwegian
ships and mobile offshore units) does not
PHOTO: NMA
reflect the scope of the new Convention and
will be revised as a result of this amendment.
According to the current legislation, a valid
medical certificate is already a condition for
being issued a Certificate for Master Fisherman
Class A and B and a certificate of
competence as engineer officer.
Minimum safe manning
The new Convention also states that a
competent authority (the Norwegian Maritime
Authority) shall establish a minimum
safe manning for vessels of 24 metres in
length and over, which will result in a revision
of the existing Regulations on manning
of Norwegian ships.
Even though there is currently no formal
requirement for fishing vessels to have safe
manning documents, the shipping company
shall, pursuant section 15 of the Ship Safety
and Security Act, cf. section 6, ensure that
the ship is safely manned, including that the
persons who are working on board possess
the necessary qualifications and certificates.
Consequently, the introduction of a requirement
for safe manning documents does not
affect any vessel currently operating with a
crew having the necessary qualifications and
certificates and consisting of enough persons
to cover these functions while complying
with the requirements for periods of rest.
Requirements for crew list
The Convention also requires that every
fishing vessel carry a crew list, and this information
shall be sent to the designated person
or persons ashore before or immediately after
departure. Such persons shall be designated
by the company.
The purpose is that information on the
identity of persons on board must be available,
for example, in case something happens
to the vessel. It is natural that this is part of
the company›s safety management system,
but the NMA will consider the need for
amending existing regulations as a result of
the requirement to make a crew list.
Inspection document
Another amendment arising from the new
convention is that fishing vessels remaining at
sea for more than three days are required to
carry a document stating that the vessel
complied with the provisions of the Convention
at the time of the inspection. This applies
to vessels of 24 metres in length and over and
to vessels of less than 24 metres which usually
operate in the trade area Deepsea fishing.
The inspections in accordance with ILO 188
are planned to be carried out simultaneously
with the initial and renewal inspections of the
vessel›s trading certificate.
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